The ability to detect the presence of a counterfeit bill or suspect bill requires a high degree of expertise and is typically checked at banks or other similar institutions. To date, no equipment exists which is capable of integrating the examination process into or as part of another routine activity so as to greatly facilitate the handling of such currency, the ideal technique being the ability to perform initial tests on currency simultaneously with a normal counting or processing operation thereby significantly reducing the amount of time per individual note required for such handling when performed separately. Unfortunately, none of the apparatus and/or techniques presently available are capable of performing all of the above activities at high speed and within a single integrated apparatus. The tests which are typically performed are those involving detection for the presence of fluorescence and a test for detecting the presence of magnetic particles in the ink employed in printing the currency. Present day apparatus provides an arrangement for performing such tests either in a manner which requires a very significant amount of manual activity as part of the test or through the use of equipment which is extremely slow and which, in any case, is incapable of incorporating the above-mentioned tests in high-speed counting apparatus.